Today, US Capitol Police have been ordered to arrest visitors and staff who refuse to wear a mask on the House side of the Capitol complex.
Now, before you get visions of GOP members in handcuffs, the memo stipulates that Members of Congress who do not wear masks inside the complex will be reported to the House sergeant-at-arms, and can be fined $500 for each offense. Apparently, the Constitution says members of Congress are “privileged from arrest” in most cases at the Capitol so Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mask mandate won’t apply to the Senate side of the Capitol, where masks remain voluntary.
A bulletin for the police says, “If a visitor or staff member fails to wear a mask after a request is made to do so, the visitor or staff shall be denied entry to the House Office Buildings or House-side of the U.S. Capitol. Any person who fails to either comply or leave the premises after being asked to do so would be subject to an arrest for Unlawful Entry.”
As expected, the GOP is fighting the new rule.